Wednesday 30 May 2012

Thing 3 - I have a brand already? When did that happen?!

I stare at screens all day long, just one of the reasons I haven't yet made the leap to things like Facebook and Twitter. I was quite confident until embarking on Thing 3 that my online presence was minimal if not entirely absent. Personal branding wasn't a concept I was familiar with, so I was a little disconcerted to learn that I already had one, even though I wasn't aware of it. And so I took the plunge suggested and googled my name: Leigh Bunton.

Unlike surnames such as Smith or Jones, Bunton isn't too common and I fully expected to find only references to the Spice Girls. Following the initial shock that I'd apparently died suddenly aged 33 (rest in peace, Benjamin Leigh Bunton!) I was surprised to find that 5 of the 10 hits on the first page referred directly to yours truly! This was quickly followed by relief that each hit reflected either something that I'd written as part of my chartership activities, my membership of the Multimedia, Information and Technology Group (Scotland), or staff information from my workplace website. Nothing too offensive or damaging then, and thankfully along the lines of how I would like my personal brand to develop.

As this course progresses, I fully expect to be staring at more screens for longer as I journey into the sci-fi world of Facebook, Twitter and the like. I'm grateful to realise at an early stage, though, that it's important to have a clear idea of my personal and professional identity - it's out there whether I like it or not!

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